


Fallen Watcher

by TheBrothersRowe



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Before Angel turns bad, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Giles is the group dad, Kendra and Jenny are alive, No shipping between them, Season 2 AU, Season 5 Spoilers, what if au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23758615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrothersRowe/pseuds/TheBrothersRowe
Summary: For a week now had these persistent headaches, and after the constant nagging from the gang, Giles finally agreed to get a check up. Surely it was nothing more than a migraine and he'd return to his duties. It was simple as that....That is the diagnosis comes in, the results being more than concerning.An AU in which Angel and Buffy didn't sleep together, thus no Angelus, and things continue as normal with Jenny alive and Kendra returning. And Joyce isn't the one with the brain tumor, but a different parental figure to Buffy.
Relationships: Angel/Buffy Summers, Buffy & the Scooby Gang, Buffy Summers & Joyce Summers, Buffy Summers & Kendra Young, Cordelia Chase/Xander Harris, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne/Willow Rosenberg, Jenny Calendar/Rupert Giles, Rupert Giles & Buffy Summers, Xander Harris & Willow Rosenberg
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. The First Instance

It was a normal day like any other in Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang hanging out in the library as usual. Talking about typical high school affairs. Jenny let out an amused chuckle at Giles’ face of discomfort, to think, after putting up with the group for a year he’d be used to it by now. “What’s wrong Rupert? Talk over the football team, not your favorite?”.

“No… no, it’s not...that. Just a simple migraine.” Giles replied, taking off his glasses as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

This immediately concerned Jenny, the woman looking at him. “Another one. You’ve been having one every day now. Are you okay?” She asked.

“I’m alright.” Giles stated.  _ She didn’t need to know that this was the same migraine from yesterday, it just continued to painfully be persistent.  _ With a faint groan, the Watcher rested his head on the counter, rubbing his head.

“Wait here, I’ll find you some Advil.” Jenny gave him a simple pat on the back, getting up and leaving the library.

The sound of footsteps came towards him and by the constant click of heels, he was well aware that Jenny had not returned in a speedy manner. “Giles, we need you to fix this stupid little argument, okay? We’ve been at this for way too long and it’s hurting my head listening to all this nerd talk. So make it simple and tell me I’m right already so they can like get off my case.”  _ Oh for heaven’s sake, Cordelia. _

“But Cordelia, you’re wrong. Humans are mammals.” Willow interjected.

“I am not on the same level as a nasty hairy monkey.” Cordelia huffed, “Come on, Giles. You know I’m right.”.

A groan left Giles, the Watcher lifting his head up and put his glasses back on in a swift motion. “Apologies Cordelia, but Willow is in fact-” Giles pushed himself up to stand, staggering immediately. Before he could come in contact with the floor, Buffy was at his side, holding him up. “Thank you, Buffy.”.

“Giles, are you feeling alright? You aren’t looking good.” Buffy stated, sitting her Watcher down as Xander dragged a chair over. 

“Yeah, G-Man. Keep it up and you’ll start like one of Spike’s roomies.” Xander commented, getting a light nudge from Willow. “What he means is you look sick. Not like gross or icky, or just…. Just sick. Maybe you should take a day off or something. We can hold down the fort...right guys?” Willow asked, turning to her friends, none of them seeming entirely pleased by the offer.

Giles held up a hand, carefully shaking his head, “No, no. It’s quite alright I’m…”. He stopped talking as the migraine seemed to intensify, making him hold his head gently with his finger tips. His touch had been off as of late, the constant sensation of pins and needles any time he touched something. It had spread to his forearms in the morning, making walking up such a drag.

Buffy grimaced, worried for him. Giles had always been a terrible liar… “Giles, I think you should get checked up.”

“Please, Buffy. That is hardly the appropriate reaction.” Giles remarked.

“Then it’ll be nothing. Just… get a check up a lot. You work a lot.” Buffy insisted, genuinely worried for him. While she wouldn’t voice it out loud, Giles had become a sort of father figure to her. She needed to be sure he was okay or it’d drive her insane. “Cause, I can’t do anything if my Watcher isn’t at his best. Who will read all the demon books or nag me when I’m crushing on a guy instead of focusing?”.

A sigh left Giles and the man nodded, “Fine, if it’ll put you all at ease then I suppose a check up can’t be too harmful.”.

A sigh of relief left Willow, the girl flashing a small smile to Buffy. “I shall go after school ends, as of now, I believe you all have somewhere to be.” Giles commented just as the school bell rang, “Now hurry off before Snyder shows up.”.

“Don’t remind us.” Xander groaned, leaving with the others. Buffy followed behind her friends, glancing back into the library silently.

And just as he had promised, Giles drove himself to the hospital, intending to get just a small check up.  _ Surely it was going to be nothing too serious…. _

Or so he thought, until they requested he take a CAT scan. Upon hearing that suggestion, the man got up, requesting the phone. Certainly they’d bother him about having someone there where he got the news, so he might as well have called now. Who to call though?

Jenny was helping around but she still preferred to keep her distance, he didn’t want to burden her with this. Buffy had far too much to worry about already, being the slayer and a student. Kendra had already left to return home. He didn’t want to burden Willow and Xander with this knowledge. And he hadn’t known Cordelia and Oz all that well to invite them here.

A heavy sigh left the man, pinching the bridge of his nose. He certainly hoped that he wouldn’t come to regret this.

“Hello. Jenny Calendar, who is this?”

Giles found himself speechless, struggling to come up with the words as he listened to her voice. Surely she cared this morning, but she wouldn’t be forgiving enough to show at the hospital. “Hello?” Letting out a hesitant sigh, Giles hung up the phone, putting it back in it’s spot. Taking a breath, he walked back into the room, no one needed to know… it would just be a burden. What mattered was being there for Buffy and the others, preparing them for any demons that came to the Hellmouth. 

_ Surely it would be nothing. _

“A shadow..?” Giles questioned, looking at the scans. “We don’t know what it is yet. I would recommend doing a quick procedure to figure out what it is. That way we’ll decide if surgery is needed or not.” The doctor explained, “It’s your choice though, sir. You can take a minute to think things over if you need to.”

Giles gave a slow nod, “Yes, of-of course. Very well.”. Despite his mind trying to convince him that it was nothing more than a simple migraine, the more he stared at the scans, the more concerned he became.

_ Time... it was something he needed so much of to process this, yet it seemed he had so little of it left if this turned out to be worse than he had hoped. _


	2. Hopes Being Held

Knowing he’d need time to think about this, Giles stepped out of the office, looking up surprised when the whole Scooby Gang was in the waiting room. “W-What are all of you doing here?” Giles asked, completely perplexed.

“Ms. Calendar said someone called from the hospital. W-we told her that Buffy said you should get checked out… and we got worried.” Willow explained. “I mean who else would call from the hospital…” Jenny remarked, a genuine look of concern. Certainly she hadn’t forgived him for what happened, it was a strange sensation.

“So, they tell you what it is, G-Man?” Xander asked.

The Watcher sighed, taking a seat in the waiting area beside them. There was certainly no point in lying to all of them when they had come too far to check on him. It seemed he would have to tell the truth.

Taking a deep breath, Giles removed his glasses, looking at the group. “It may seem that I… have a shadow, inside of my head. Discovered it once they brought up a CAT scan. They’re… they’re um suggesting to do an operation, discover what it is.”

Everyone looked at him when he explained this, the various emotions clear on their face, and they all wasted no time bombarding him with questions. “You’re going to do the operation right? I mean you gotta, to make sure it’s nothing.” Willow said.

“This is crazy, I mean you’ve just been getting like headaches and stuff. He’s old, old people get sick.” Cordelia remarked, getting a glare from half the group, “I mean my uncle, he-”. “Hey, Cordy, remember how we talked about the fact that everything isn’t about you?” Xander quipped, getting a glare from her.

“Guys, he’s been off for days now. There’s gotta be something wrong.” Oz stated.

“Did-” “Everyone, enough!” It was Jenny that stopped them all, “We can’t bombard him with questions. It’ll just stress him out more. We just need to be supportive of whatever choices Rupert decides to make.”.

That did make him feel better, especially with her seeming better. He’d surely apologize to her later. “Why thank you, Jenny. Um, as for your questions. I… I suppose I’ll stick with the operation, make sure it’s nothing too serious. If it is, we’ll certainly want that dealt with.”.

“Yeah, where would I be without my Watcher to nag me.” Buffy stated, putting up a fake smile to mask her concern. “I suppose, you should all return home, this may take a while.” Giles explained. “Nice try, but you aren’t sending us away.” Buffy remarked, “We’re all staying. You always got our backs and listened to our teen rants, we’re here for you.”. 

All of them nodded, even Cordelia did, and truth be told it relieved him. “Thank you, all of you.”.

Hours had passed, the group waited around anxiously for news. Giles had been taken off to a room to rest while the doctors waited for results. The waiting was killing them.

“This waiting, it’s killing me.” Xander stated, pacing back and forth.

“You’ve said that already, nerdfest.” Cordelia quipped, “Now stop that before you burn a floor into the ground.”.

Just as Xander had come back with the perfect witty comment, the door opened up, all of them looking over immediately as Giles’ doctor came out, making them all stand once more. “Now, before I go into any of the details, how many of you are family?” The doctor asked, looking up as they all raised their hands. “Extended.” Buffy added. 

“Wife.” Jenny softly said, getting a look from the others.

Thankfully the doctor believed them, but the man sighed, looking at them. “I think you may want to sit down, because of this.”  _ Yeah, as if that didn’t immediately worry them all, _ “We’ve reviewed Mr. Giles CAT scans and we’ve discovered what the problem is. What we’ve discovered is that he has a brain tumor.”

The second the diagnosis came out, it felt as if all of them had been hit by a train.

“Now if you don’t mind, I have some questions to ask all of you.”

_ Oh no, that didn’t sound good. _

Taking the group to a more secluded area, the doctor began asking questions. “Do you know if he lives near any power lines? Chemical plants? Waste disposal facilities?”  _ Hellmouths. _

As the doctor went on, the guilt within the group only intensified. Was he like this because everything they had gone through? Yes, Giles, like everyone else, had gotten scars from their adventures over the past year and a half… but a brain tumor?

After what felt like hours of questioning, it had ended, and they were all allowed to see him. The only rule was not to be too loud, which the loud chatter boxes thankfully agreed to.

Buffy was the first in the room, her eyes landing on her watcher, seeing as he was lying still in the hospital bed. His eyes were shut, glasses gone and a bandage on the side of his head where the operation had been done. Hopefully it was all over now, and Giles could just recover.

Taking a seat beside the bed, she leaned over, grabbing his hand. “Don’t worry, Giles. We’re gonna take care of you and you’re going to get better.” Buffy whispered, giving him a squeeze as if to assure him that they intended to keep that promise.

Soon enough Giles had awoken, everyone growing relieved, giving their fair share of hugs and generic statements of them saying how happy they were that he was up. Jenny and Willow had just returned on time too, sneaking in some fast food knowing how vile the hospital food was. “While I am not a fan of American fast food, w-with all their grease and such… This is much better than what the nurse had intended to feed me before.” Giles remarked, eating some of his food.

“Yeah, we had a feeling it wouldn’t be any good.” Jenny smirked, sipping at her drink.

“No kidding, that food is straight Vitamin G. Vitamin Glop.” Oz groaned, poking the food with a pencil, shivering as he did. “I know, right? It makes the school food almost look edible.” Xander said.

A weak chuckle left Giles, before he turned his head to the blonde slayer beside him, “As thankful as I am for your constant support… may I ask why no one’s on patrol tonight.”.

“Oh don’t worry, Angel’s taking over for the next couple of nights.” Buffy smiled, taking a large bite of her burger, “What? I haven’t eaten all day.”.

Willow smiled softly, before gasping as she took out her backpack, “While me and Ms. Calendar were grabbing food, I decided to grab you a gift, I thought you’d need a pick me up.”. Searching through her bag, Willow eventually pulled out an old leather bound book, I knew you’d get bored, with being cooped up in here until the operation. This way you can still be your old Watcher self, while waiting and stuff. So you don’t get bored.”.

“Heh, thank you, Willow. Very thoughtful. I’ll make sure the nurse doesn’t find it.” Giles let out a faint chuckle, placing the book underneath his pillow, “Still, it is a shame that the doctors are insistent that I stay here til the operation. Surely it wouldn’t be too much harm if I remained home.”

“Please Giles, we all know you. You wouldn’t sit down and listen to the doctors, there’d always be something to keep you moving. It’s much safer this way. That is, unless you’re terrified of hospitals. You aren’t scared of hospitals are you?” Xander asked. “Xander, shut up.” Buffy said.

Waiting had become a theme in the past few days, the Scooby Gang waiting alongside Giles as it was nearly time for the surgery. “Are you scared?” Buffy asked.

“No, i’m-”

“It’s okay to be scared, Giles.” Willow stated. “Yeah, but remember, we’re waiting for you out here the second it’s done.” Oz added, getting a tired smile from him.

“Y-Yes, I suppose. And I couldn’t have asked for a better group to support me. Surely this’ll work, then things will return to the way they were.” Giles replied, looking up as two nurses walked in, “It seems it’s time.”.

With a series of goodbyes from everyone, Giles was wheeled off, everyone standing by as they watched him be taken off.

_ Please, let this work, they needed him more then he ever knew. _


End file.
